Eastern fights foreclosure Firm says Lincoln mill profitable

BANGOR – Bankrupt Eastern Pulp and Paper Co. is fighting a creditor’s attempt to foreclose on its Massachusetts headquarters, stating in court documents filed Monday that the mill used by the creditor as an example of “ongoing losses” is actually profitable.

The mill, Lincoln Pulp and Paper Co. in Lincoln, is listed as the mortgage holder of the Amherst, Mass., headquarters. According to documents filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland, the mill has been profitable during the nearly three years that it, along with sister mill Eastern Fine Paper Co. in Brewer and parent Eastern Pulp and Paper, has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Chapter 11 affords a company protection from creditors while it reorganizes its finances and operations.

Last week, during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceeding in Portland, Eastern Pulp and Paper asked the court to impose pay reductions on union wages at Lincoln and at Eastern Fine, which the judge approved.

Eastern Pulp and Paper’s vice president of operations, Douglas Walsh, testified last week that the company was in a position where “we’re running out of cash,” and he called the wage cuts “absolutely necessary.”

He said that during the first 18 days of June, the Lincoln mill had been shut down for 17 because market “conditions have continued to deteriorate.”

On Monday, attorneys for Eastern Pulp, Lincoln Pulp and Eastern Fine stated in documents they filed with the bankruptcy court that Lincoln Pulp “has been profitable, reporting pretax profits” the last two years and the first quarter of this year.

George Marcus, a Portland attorney representing the parent company and the two mills, said Monday afternoon that Lincoln has been profitable, but Eastern Fine has not. He said the continued losses of the entire operation are the reasons why the union wage cuts were needed, and why nonunion wage reductions also were undertaken on June 1.

“If you read it carefully, the Lincoln mill is profitable,” Marcus said. “That doesn’t mean that the whole company is profitable.”

Since last week’s court proceeding, Eastern Pulp and Paper has undertaken a public campaign to notify suppliers and customers that even though it has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for almost three years, the company still is open for business.

Eastern Pulp and Paper has sent out two press releases nationally since Thursday that state recent cost-cutting measures “will restore financial health and strengthen [our] ability to meet customer needs.”

Joseph H. Torras Sr., chief executive officer and chairman of Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp., in one of the press releases, called the wage cuts “a huge step toward exiting from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.”

“These are difficult times and this help from all of our employees is extremely heartening,” Torras said. “We’re confident our business is now in a position to be financially very sound.”

But Northborough Capital Partners LLC, the holder of the mortgage on Eastern Pulp’s headquarters, is unhappy with what it considers to be a lack of progress on Eastern Pulp’s part to emerge from bankruptcy. More than a week ago, the company filed a request with a federal bankruptcy judge to allow it to pursue foreclosure proceedings on the property because the loan, issued under Lincoln Pulp’s name, is in default.

In the court documents filed June 12, Northborough stated that Lincoln Pulp owes more than $816,745 on the note, including interest and late fees. Plus, Northborough stated, Eastern Pulp and Lincoln Pulp have made little effort to sell the Amherst headquarters.

Northborough stated that Lincoln Pulp “has suffered substantial and ongoing losses during the pendency of this lengthy proceeding.”

If the judge says no to Northborough’s request, then the creditor wants him to change Eastern Pulp’s bankruptcy status to Chapter 7 from its current Chapter 11. Under Chapter 7, the company’s two mills in Brewer and Lincoln would be closed, 800 people would be laid off and the machinery and property would be sold to pay creditors.

A hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on July 16 at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland.

Marcus, in the court document filed Monday, stated that Northborough has failed to demonstrate a valid reason as to why it should be allowed to collect on its debt during the bankruptcy proceeding.

“Northborough has not submitted a shred of evidence in support of its motion,” Marcus wrote.

He said Northborough must demonstrate that Lincoln Pulp has suffered “continuing loss” and is unlikely to be financially rehabilitated. He said that Lincoln Pulp and Eastern Pulp have “relentlessly cut costs in a volatile and adverse market” and have told the court that they intend to file a reorganization plan “early this summer.”

Jeffrey Piampiano, a Portland attorney representing Northborough, said Monday evening that he could not comment on Eastern Pulp’s response to his client’s court request because he had not read it yet.